Merit: True Faith
(7 point Merit; an additional 7 points needed for each extra dot/rating. Yes, taking True Faith means you may take no other merits out of chargen (regardless of rank or age) without tacit Wizard approval.) You have a deep-seated faith in (and love for) Gaia, God or whatever it is you consider the Almighty. You begin the game with one point of Faith (a Trait that ranges from 1-10; Jesus or Siddhartha would have been Faith 9-10). This Faith provides you with an inner strength and comfort that continues to support you when all else betrays you. The exact effects of Faith can vary from person to person, and some are almost never obvious; some of the most saintly people never perform miracles greater than managing to ease an injured soul's suffering. The nature of any miracles you might perform is usually tied to your own auspice or Nature, and you may never realize that you receive aid from a force beyond yourself. True Faith is a rare and powerful attribute in this day and age. All characters may add their Faith to any appropriate Willpower roll in addition to such effects as discussed below. Remember that Faith represents a person's total commitment to her beliefs. That person will act accordingly. Those with high Faith ratings may seem fanatical, even insane to those not of their religion. *Note: No one may start the game with more than one Faith point. Additional points are only awarded at Wizard discretion, which is usually based on an examination of appropriate behavior and deeds. *Further Note: For Vampires wishing to take this advantage, you must have a Humanity of 9 or higher to choose this merit, and if you lose even one Humanity point, all your Faith points are lost and my be regained only when the lost Humanity is recovered. =Effects= The following is a very basic representation of how truth faith can manifest. Characters are free to discuss additional possibilities with a wizard. • Any character with Faith may attempt to ward off any supernatural by brandishing a holy symbol or uttering prayers. (This is the Hollywood cliche of the vampire (or whatever) being held back by a crucifix). The person rolls Faith against a difficulty equal to the supernatural's Willpower. One success indicates that the supernatural may not physically touch the character (though guns and other methods still work). The total of any further successes indicates the number of steps backwards the supernatural is forced to take. If no successes are scored, the supernatural is simply prevented from advancing, but may still physically harm the character if they are within reach. A botch indicates a complete failure of the Faith to manifest. Further, if the character's holy symbol is placed against a vampire's (or any other supernatural violently opposed to the character's faith), each success causes an aggravated health level of damage, burning into the flesh. •• Any character with a Faith rating of 2 or more may resist supernatural Mind-Control (Vampiric Dominate, etc.) by spending Willpower (one point typically protects for a few turns). ••• A person with a Faith score of 3 or more may sense the presence of a supernatural. She need not conciously try to sense a supernatural's presence, but must be in peaceful, quiet surroundings - perhaps alone in thought, praying, reading Torah, mediting on the Bible, etc. The person will not sense the supernatural's presence if she is preoccuped (e.g. arguing) or in a crowded, noisy place (jostled by a mob, in the midst of a raucous banquet, etc.). This ability need not be infallible; GMs should let the character sense the supernatural only if doing so is dramatically appropriate. Note that the character cannot know exactly what she senses through her Faith; all that she will know is that something unclean, evil or otherworldly is nearby. •••• The character may not be turned into a ghoul and is unaffected by any mind-altering Disciplines (Presence, Obfuscate, etc.), Gifts and other supernatural powers. ••••• The character is so pure, so holy, that she can fill any supernatural with a stunning array of emotion: From absolute to self-loathing and physical pain for a vampire, to complete majesty for those not violently opposed to her. Any supernatural hearing the person pray, preach or recite psalms, or being touched by the person, may be forced to flee immediately by any available means, or be struck dumb by the character's radiant presence. Any fleeing creature who is unable to flee is reduced to a gibbering wreck, flailing on the floor and screaming, sobbing or begging for forgiveness. To avoid fleeing or being enraptured, a supernatural must either expend one Willpower point per turn or must make a Stamina roll each turn (difficulty of 5 + her own Intelligence). That's right; the higher the supernatural's Intelligence, the higher the difficulty, because she will feel more tortured and guilty or further understand the divine beauty in what she is seeing. In the supernatural world, a Faith rating above 5 isn't unheard of, but is increasingly rare. These are the sorts of people that are venerated as saints, and their powers are enormous. There is an easy way for supernaturals to determine a person with Faith. Aura Perception always shows it up as a silver/gold "halo" around the character's body. The strength of Faith determines the brightness of the halo. True Faith